John Drisco, my George Mason District Eagle representative, met me at my church’s Fellowship Hall to discuss and improve my Eagle Project proposal. Normally this is a simple matter of contacting one of our district Eagle reps and setting a time and place to meet. But we all know that nothing has been simple since the pandemic started for all of us in the NCAC in March!
I first had to review BSA guidance, local restrictions, and our church safety standards and then plan the room preparation after getting approval from several different groups! My dad and I arrived early with our masks, wipes, and hand sanitizer. Set up an eight-foot table, some chairs, and wiped everything down. A Scout is prepared.
But despite all the challenges, it was a great meeting and experience. Mr. Drisco provided input on tracking hours, planning and budgeting costs (don’t forget pizza to feed scouts and adult helpers). To clearly state the benefits of the project, and how you measure success. Oh, that last one might have been from my Life to Eagle Coach? Take before and after pictures. Keep good notes in the planning notebook and notify the beneficiary, troop leadership and my district Eagle representative if anything changes on the scope of the project. Do not put off writing it up your project once completed, or you will forget details. Then once you have written everything up, review your notes one last time and type it up to make it look professional. Be proud of your work because it will be read by the board of review, the district, the council and at National!
As we all stood up to go, we were reminded that Safety will be a big factor on future Eagle projects. Plan for how to keep Scouts and adults safe. Have a checklist and remind Scouts on how to be safe while helping. Have masks, gloves, wipes, hand sanitizer and plan for social distancing! As we wiped down the table with Clorox wipes and returned the table and chairs to storage, I felt my mask, remembered to use hand sanitizer, to keep my distance and waved thanks to Mr. Drisco. Now to the next step on my journey to Eagle. Good luck to all the Life Scouts working hard on Eagle Projects in the Pandemic! We can and will make a difference.
Bobby Humphreys
SPL Troop 345